Latest articles by Bill DeMain
You can check out, but you can never leave: A room-by-room guide to the Eagles' Hotel California
Every song on the Eagles' Hotel California, analysed
Mexican reggae! Gunslinger duels! Chainsaws! The making of the Eagles' masterpiece Hotel California
Fifty years after it was recorded and released, Don Henley and producer Bill Szymczyk revisit the making of the Eagles' most successful album
The brief life and mysterious death of the cult 60s rocker who inspired The Clash
Bobby Fuller could have been the next Buddy Holly – but he died in mysterious circumstances in 1966 at the age of 23.
Bruce Hornsby on his unique musical life, and why new album Indigo Park gives him the chills
Bruce Hornsby could easily just rest on his laurels, but with his new album Indigo Park exploring memory and aging, he’s still forging ahead, adding fresh twists to his classic sound
When Halestorm’s Lzzy Hale met Heart’s Ann Wilson
These two cross-generational icons talk about siblings, sobriety and covering Stairway To Heaven in front of Led Zeppelin themselves.
It looks like a beer bong and sounds like a robot: the story of Joe Walsh's Rocky Mountain Way
Rocky Mountain Way came to Joe Walsh as he mowed his lawn, much to the detriment of his furious neighbour's rose bushes
The Boys Of Summer by Don Henley: the story behind the song
From an unwanted demo came Don Henley's Boys Of Summer, a song that aches with nostalgia and innocence
This is what happened when Jimi Hendrix landed in London for the first time
When Hendrix arrived in the UK in 1966, the rock world tilted on its axis and he shot from unknown to superstar and changed everything
David Bowie: The story of Pin Ups
After Aladdin Sane, Bowie recorded Pin Ups to pacify his label – but the critics weren't impressed
The unlikely triumph of rock'n'roll's greatest nerds, the B-52s
How new-wave eccentrics The B-52s spun lobsters, aliens and Yoko Ono into floor-shaking hits and became massive
A tribute to Brian Wilson: June 20, 1942 – June 11, 2025
As the visionary heart and soul of the Beach Boys, Brian Wilson created a mythic California soundtrack of sun-drenched, youthful innocence and some timeless classics, all while battling personal demons, addiction and mental illness
Nine Todd Rundgren albums to listen to, and one to avoid
Buying guide Songwriter, producer, singer, multi-instrumentalist, digital pioneer: Todd Rundgren is a restless and progressive artist with diverse, distinguished catalogue
The Black Crowes reflect on success and answer the question: Why do they still bother making albums?
After decades of feuding and fall-outs, The Black Crowes' Chris and Rich Robinson have found a groove of brotherly love and rock bravado
How a sci-fi classic, the moon landings and a future British Prime Minister’s dad inspired David Bowie’s first big hit
Space Oddity would introduce the wider world to David Bowie
How David Bowie's Heroes became his most life-changing single
Although David Bowie's Berlin-period anthem Heroes was initially something of a commercial failure, it became a classic for the ages
How Ann and Nancy Wilson poured feelings about love and the state of the world into Crazy On You
Inspired by a draft dodging lover and unfolding global chaos, Heart's Crazy On You still resonates today
How David Bowie conquered time to write the song that gave him an audience
How a young David Bowie’s artistic manifesto was captured in three and a half perfect minutes
How London’s famous clock tower and a flirtatious groupie inspired Jimi Hendrix's last great song
A story of Hawaiian volcanoes and Mick Jagger's bloody finger
Janis Joplin broke away from her band to make a solo album that divided the critics. A year later she was dead
Janis Joplin’s I Got Dem Ol’ Kozmic Blues Again Mama would be the last album she released during her lifetime
The story behind Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty's Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around
Unhappy with Fleetwood Mac's Tusk album, Stevie Nicks gravitated towards a band whose music she preferred
How a sci-fi icon inspired Pink Floyd’s engineer to make a wild concept album that predicted the AI revolution nearly 50 years ago
The Alan Parsons Projects’ I Robot is a 70s prog classic
Nine Johnny Cash albums you should listen to and one to avoid
Buying guide Original Man In Black and iconic singer-songwriter Johnny Cash recorded almost 100 albums over the course of his career - and these are the ones you need
How Mrs Robinson became an era-defining hit and an albatross around The Lemonheads' neck
Recorded and mixed in just three hours, one of grunge's biggest songs was hated by the man who wrote it
